Auckland has come of age over recent years, and is now an urban playground of which Aucklanders can genuinely be proud. Frequent visitors to the central city are actually proud of their city and more than ever before, they’re confident enough to show it, but that message needed to reach those Aucklanders who visited less often and had an out-dated view of the central city. However, getting more people into the city (with increasingly expensive parking and easily accessible malls) is no easy task.

Knowing that people trust the opinions of other people more than they do brands, Aucklanders were encouraged and inspired to tell the story of the new Auckland themselves through New Zealand’s first Instagram-centric campaign; in effect, to become ambassadors for their city.

The Heart of the City’s “loveyourcity” campaign all started with 500 reasons to love Auckland City. This simple, three part strategy was aimed at inspiring people to participate, facilitate them doing just that, and then bring their message to the wider Auckland public.

It became one of New Zealand’s biggest virtual love fests, driving thousands more people to engage with the city online, participating and sharing their love on Instagram. More importantly, it attracted thousands more into the city to spend many thousands more dollars.